Weight Watchers is one of the most successful and respected weight loss programs in the world. Their simple "points" tracking system and focus on "filling foods" (basically, anything that only has one ingredient: apple, turkey, tomato) and support network have helped millions of people lose unwanted pounds and keep it off. It is also my program of choice. This brings me to my question. Why do so many people EAT during the Weight Watchers meeting? Saturday after saturday I see people step off the scale then proceed to unpack their meal of choice. You cannot imagine what comes out of those New York City tote bags. You know those bags we all carry with our wallet, water bottle, latest InStyle magazine, book of the week, lip balm and apparantly, food for weight watchers meetings. Is it a form of rebellion? The evil scale sits behind the desk, watching slowly as the line shuffles forward. Once their turn to face the beast, they climb on and hold their breath. Will it be Victory? Or Defeat? no matter how many times our fearless leader tells us "it's not about the scale, its about how you live" we all know that it IS about the scale and our day can crash in an instant if the evil scale belches out a higher number then it did the week before. Once they have conquered the scale, for better or worse, the assume their seat for the meeting. then the unpacking begins: fruit, yogurt, egg sandwich, hard boiled egg - needing to be peeled-and cans of tunafish. I almost expect a tablecloth and silverwear to join the plastic containers on display. Are they saying, "ha ha! i made it through the week, I starved myself all day on friday, and now that I have faced the beast at 9:30 Saturday morning - I can eat!" Or is it defiance - "Yes I need to lose weight, I know that. But I also have the self confidence to pull out an egg sandwich and eat it for the world to see." Or maybe they feel that the WW meeting is a safe place, where they can feel comfortable eating in public because everyone is there for the same reason and there is no judgement. I have to admit, I am proud of those people and just a little jealous that they are comfortable enough to plow through a bagel and container of fruit during the 45minute meeting. i personally don't like to eat in public, except in a restaurant. I feel like people are watching me eat my sandwhich and wondering why I am eating the sandwich, since I obviously don't need to. So die hard Weight Watcher meeting eaters - rejoice in your self confidence, just please don't let your egg shell land in my lap again.

Can I even run?

My friend has decided that she wants to run a marathon for her 40th birthday. This will give her motivation to drop the last few pounds on her weight loss journey. As additional motivation, she plans to target different runs around the country to participate in really cool locations. The target is the Chicago Marathon on October 10, 2010 - 10/10/10.
I have not committed to the marathon. I don't even know if I can run a mile yet. I have committed to a 5K. And a program called Couch-2-5K. Apparantly this program downloaded onto my iPhone, should prepare me to run a 5K in 9 short weeks. I am in week one of the training program.
Honestly, I am afraid to commit to anything. I am notorious for starting things I never finish. For the longest time I thought I was lazy, but I really think that I am more afraid of succeeding and the commitment that will take.
I can barely talk and chew gum at the same time, so running for any distance will be a huge success. I asked for rollerblades for Christmas shortly after moving to the city and my Mother's response was, "oh, honey, I don't think so. Your lack of coordination combined with rollerblades would worry me to death. How about a nice bracelet instead?" So for now, lets just focus on the 5K and not falling down.
In addition to committing to the 5K, I am hoping this will also jump start my own weight loss journey. I need to lose somewhere between 40-60 pounds. We'll shoot for 40, then see where I stand. Another fine example of starting something and quiting after a certain level of success. I have spent the last 8 years going to weight watchers meetings off and on, not really trying, hoping to lose weight via osmosis. I lost 20 pounds during my first several months, but then gained it back plus a little more. I have lost the same 10 pounds over and over and I just want them to go away forever!
Is it ironic or optimistic to start a blog on New Year's Eve? Will this be abandoned in a month? Who knows? I am hoping having this accountability will be a motivating factor in this process.

So, I'll leave this posting with a big "Happy New Year!".